Meta Platforms Inc. (ex-Facebook) Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said the company will cut more than 11,000 jobs, calling himself responsible for the first major round of layoffs in the social media monster’s history.
The reductions, equal to about 13% of the workforce, were disclosed Wednesday in a statement. Zuckerberg then addressed employees, asking them to thank those who lost their jobs, and noting that employees outside North America will face uncertainty while the company sorts out who is affected, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will also extend its hiring freeze through the first quarter.
“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” Zuckerberg said in the statement that was sent to Meta employees and posted on the company’s website. “I know this is tough for everyone, and I’m especially sorry to those impacted.”
Zuckerberg said that while reductions will happen across the company, the recruiting team will be disproportionately affected and business teams would be restructured “more substantially.” Meta will also reduce its real estate footprint, review infrastructure spending and transition some employees to desk sharing, with more cost-cutting announcements expected in the coming months.
The Meta (ex-Facebook) became infamous when it deleted the accounts of hundreds of critics of the 74-year-old ethnic cleansing conducted by the Khazarian entity against genuine Semitic people in Palestine.
